Trial begins in case of young Canadian couple allegedly killed in 1987 by Washington man

Talbott was arrested last year after authorities used a novel method called genetic genealogy to identify him as the suspect in the couple's murder

Author:
Associated Press

Published:
1:51 PM PDT June 14, 2019

Updated:
1:52 PM PDT June 14, 2019

EVERETT, Wash. — A defense lawyer for a man charged with killing a young Canadian couple in 1987, described his client as a blue-collar guy who's lived "a quiet, unremarkable life."

In his opening statement Friday at William Earl Talbott II's trial, attorney Jon Scott noted there's little or no evidence about who 18-year-old Tanya Van Cuylenborg and her boyfriend, 20-year-old Jay Cook, were with or what they did in the days before they were found dead in Washington state.

Talbott was arrested last year after authorities used a novel method called genetic genealogy to identify him as the person they say left his DNA on Van Cuylenborg's pants.